Introduction: Fresh Autumn Apple Tart
As Autumn arrives, leaves begin to change colors, cooler weather is on the way, if not already here for many, and apple harvesting season arrives!
In the spirit of the season, it is time for a tart! This is such an easy tart, without a great deal of hassle, yet one that will yield delicious results, not to mention a beautiful appearance. When an apple variety by the name of Jazz arrived in our local grocery store, I knew what we would be having with our morning coffee - and soon! A Jazz is a cross between a Royal Gala and a Braeburn apple. The result is a sweet and crispy apple that holds shape very well, whether eaten fresh or even baked.
Step 1: The Recipe...and a Quick-start Set of Instructions.
Many thanks to Enza for this wonderful little tart recipe!
½ cup old-fashioned oats, uncooked
1 cup of all-purpose flour
½ cup of butter
5 tablespoons of white sugar
¼ cup finely chopped walnuts (more, if you are a nut lover like me)
2 tablespoons of apricot jam, melted
3 apples - peeled and cored, sliced (preferably thin)
4 teaspoons of lemon juice
2 tablespoons melted butter
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
(May I suggest adding raisins, too? Yum!)
The following is a set of instructions from the Jazz Apple site, posted verbatim. (Word for word)
No copyright intended. This is a quick way to get to the cooking without my incessant, drawn-out rambling.
For those who prefer a bit more dialog, please see the remaining steps 2 through 10.
Process oats in food processor or blender until they resemble a coarse flour.
Add flour, butter, 3 tablespoons sugar and vanilla and process until well blended.
Mix in walnuts and press into a 9½ inch tart or pie pan.
Refrigerate 30 minutes, and then bake at 375 F/190ºC for 15 minutes.
Spread bottom with melted jam. Meanwhile, toss apple slices with lemon juice and butter.
Mix cinnamon with 1 tablespoon sugar and toss with apples.
Arrange apples in tart shell and bake at 375º F/190º C for 25 minutes.
Sprinkle apples with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar and heat under broiler until golden brown.
Step 2: Gather Your Ingredients and Supplies...
Dry, old fashioned oats - uncooked
All purpose flour
White sugar
Vanilla extract
Walnuts or other nuts (if desired)
Apricot jam
3 apples
Lemon juice
Butter
Cinnamon
Supplies:
A sharp knife to peel the apples, hopefully a coring tool, perhaps even an apple slicer
A knife or other method to chop nuts
A tart pan, preferably with a removable bottom and a pretty fluted edge.
A food processor
A strip of foil or other item to prevent the edges of your tart from burning during the broil
An oven, of course...
Plastic gloves if you don't like to stick your fingers into food others may be eating...
Step 3: Make the Tart Crust...
turn the oats into something that looks like chunky flour.
To this flour, add the following:
1 cup of all-purpose flour
½ cup of butter
5 tablespoons of white sugar
½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
Nuts...to add after creating the dough
This will create a sort of clay dough texture.
Mix in the nuts, blend well.
Step 4: Press the Dough Into the Tart Pan...
of butter, smooth the crust into a tart pan. Try to get the crust
as evenly pressed as possible.
Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 30 minutes while you move on to step 5.
Step 5: A Bit of Prepping While the Crust Refrigerates...
few more nuts for the topping. This is not included in the original recipe,
but I think it looks nice, and tastes wonderful mixed with the sugar topping.
Prepare the cinnamon and sugar mixture, peel and slice the apples.
Step 6: Bake the Tart, Spread With Jam...
jam over the tart crust with the back of a spoon, or a kitchen brush if you have one.
Step 7: Gadget Alert!
by no means necessary, but quite a delight when it comes to cooking something like a
tart, because it slices what would normally be eight pieces of an apple into sixteen, providing
very thin apples for baking and more.
They can be found in a number of places, but in this day and age, shopping online is
so much faster. If you are interested in purchasing one, look for the words
There is even one that is adjustable - with just a turn of the wheel you can change from
eight to sixteen slices. Often referred to as 'Dial-A-Slice Adjustable Apple Corer and Slicer'.
There is another version, like mine, that is a set sixteen slicer, with a plastic section that
will simply pop the apples out of the cutter, saving your fingers. Referred to as a 'Thin apple slicer'.
If you don't have, or don't want one of these gadgets, you will need to peel, core and slice your
apples with a knife.
Step 8: Toss Apples, Then Arrange in the Tart Shell...
of melted butter. Yeah, yeah, I see that my butter is not melted. Not a big deal.
Add four teaspoons of lemon juice, toss or mix to coat well. You can also add
the cinnamon and sugar into the mix at this point, or sprinkle it on top of the
apples once they are in the shell, which is what I did.
Arrange the apple slices nice and neat in the tart shell. Try to overlap them
so they lie in an orderly fashion. It is okay to be anal about things like this, because
you know someone is going to notice, and maybe even say something if they aren't
perfectly aligned. Sigh.
Step 9: Bake the Tart...
recommended temperature, I think I'll decrease it by 25 degrees
next time to avoid the outer edge of the crust from turning so dark.
Step 10: Broil for Just a Few Minutes to Brown the Apple Edges...
Always different, this is where I added my extra little touches.
I used a little more cinnamon, sugar and nuts, and sprinkled it
on top of the tart after baking, but before the broiling.
Heat under a broiler until the apples begin to develop a darkened
edge. Watch carefully, as they will brown quickly. You may even have
to place a strip of aluminum foil around the edges to keep them from
burning.
Such a delightful tart alone, served with coffee, served with a dollop of
cream on top, perhaps even ice cream.
Bon appetit!
